The Key, The Door, and The Slayer
by Benji The Vampire Confuser
Summary: Islington isn't the only one trying to get back home. When Glory comes looking for the Key, the Blackfriars hide it.
1. Prologue

**The Key, The Door, and the Slayer**

**By Benji: The Vampire Confuser**

_Based on Characters and situations created by Joss Whedon and Neil Gaiman._

* * *

**Prologue**

The world we know, the world of science, pop-stars, internet porn, and reality TV, is barely the tip of the iceberg. Beneath the surface lies another world. A world of Vampires, Demons, and other things that go bump in the night.

Inhuman monsters prey on the unwary. All the while the world at large refuses to acknowledge their existence. There are those however, that fate has chosen to battle these forces, to stem the tide of darkness. The Slayer for instance. One girl in all the world gifted with the power to defeat evil. When one slayer falls, another is called.

But there is yet another world, that those who live in the above mentioned, have no knowledge of. It is known as the world below, but it is all around us. It's citizens live in tunnels beneath our feet, or on the rooftops. They pass on un-noticed until they draw attention to themselves, and then are quickly forgotten. Some are born to this world. Others fall between the cracks of reality, and not even their nearest and dearest remember they ever existed.

Such a one, is Richard Mayhew. Only a few days ago he was living a normal life in London. Good job, decent flat, even a lovely, successful fiancée. That all ended the night he met Door. She nearly literally fell in his lap, bloodied, exhausted, and pursued by assassins.

Helping her cost him first his fiancée, then his entire life. Accompanying Door to the lair of Islington, they beseeched the Angel's aid, in restoring Richard to his life, and Door's investigation into her family's death. To help them, Islington told them they must seek out the Black friars, the keepers of the Key to All Realities.

So it was that Door, Richard, and Hunter, Door's bodyguard came seeking the monks who guarded the relic. What they found was not what they expected.

"Somehow I don't think it's supposed to look like this." Richard said, as they approached the monastery. One of the huge wooden doors was lying in the entrance way, broken nearly in half, the other hung on one hinge.

Hunter crouched by the bodies of two friars lying mangled just before the entrance. "They were barely able to put up a fight." She said. "Whatever did this was extremely strong." She studied the ground. "She came strait in, didn't even break stride to kill them."

"She?" Door asked.

Hunter nodded. "These tracks were made by six inch stiletto heels."

"Could have been a transvestite." Richard said, trying to alleviate his anxiety at this ominous turn of events.

"No," she replied, "The weight is wrong for a man."

"Oh."

Door approached the ruined doorway with trepidation, but Hunter stopped her. "Let me go first."

Slowly, the warrior entered the monastery, sniffing the air, and listening hard. There was no sound within, and the stench of death and fear emanated from the heart of the structure.

They found body after body, all dead. Finally they came to a central chamber where once more Hunter's skills provided a picture of what had happened.

"If she came for the key, she did not find it." She observed. "These monks were sitting in a circle when she came." Now they lay scattered about the room. "She threw them, some after they were dead. She was angry."

"So they key's gone." Richard guessed.

"Yes. Somehow the Friars were able to hide it from her."

Door held her face in her hands for a moment. They'd been so close. "Now what? Where could they have hidden it?"

* * *

"What are you doing in here?" Buffy demanded. The young brunette spun, surprised, looking chastened.

"Buffy!" her mother called from downstairs. "If you're going out, take your sister with you!"

"Mom!" Buffy and Dawn protested simultaneously.

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Islington fumed. His window to the world, allowing him to keep tabs on his thugs, and his patsies, though he didn't like to think of them that way, showed him quite clearly the destruction of the Blackfriars Abbey. This was intolerable. He'd planned for everything. He was quite confident in the trio's ability to get the key. He knew the three challenges, Hunter would easily pass the first, Door was certainly clever enough to decipher the riddle, and Richard, though he did not yet know it, was infinitely strong enough to withstand the ordeal.

Once they'd gotten the Key, Croup and Vandemar would bring it, and Door to him. They'd already dispatched the Marquis, and Richard would never be able to get past the beast. Door would get him home, and all would be right with the world.

But this, this was completely unexpected. Someone, or something had slaughtered the Blackfriars, but had not gotten the key. He took a deep, calming breath. That was the key thing, no pun intended. Whoever it was, had not gotten the key. It was still out there, somewhere. The Friars had hidden it. He just had to find out where. But first…

Poor Mr. Croup, he'd been so looking forward to springing the trap. He'd been so patient thus far. Well he'd just have to wait a little bit longer was all. The pair were not to take Door until she'd found the key. And she hadn't yet. They would just have to wait. But where could the key have got too?

* * *

"Mom," Buffy explained impatiently, "It's a date. You don't bring your little sister with you on a date."

"Oh please," Dawn huffed, "Like you do anything anyway. You go kill Vampires. Big whoop."

"Hey," the slayer cried defensively, "Riley and I do lot's of…" She saw the look her mother was leveling at her. "Wholesome, chaste things."

"Good." Joyce said. "Then you won't mind taking your sister along."

"Mom," Buffy began.

"Buffy please!" Joyce snapped, the pain in her head getting worse. "I don't ask much of you. Get your sister home by eight and then do your, wholesome chaste things."

Buffy could see that further arguments were only going to aggravate the situation. "Fine."

The two sisters exited the house, bickering already. Joyce let out a sigh, which gave way to a faint whimper of pain.

* * *

Breathing was painful. What with the still healing slit in his throat, and a double lungful of brackish water only recently expelled. Plus the numerous other wounds dotting his body. But De Caribas was grateful for the pain. It meant that he was alive. Once again, careful manipulation and long term thinking had carried the day once again.

"You know," Old Bailey said thoughtfully, "I've always wondered what it was like on the other side."

"Wait long enough and you'll find out for yourself." The Marquis said quietly. "It's very cold my friend. And dark. And very cold."

* * *

With a roar of frustration, Croup smashed the phone against the desk, then followed through by smashing the desk itself. He wished he had something living to vent his frustrations on, it was a shame they'd killed the Marquis so quickly.

Vandemar watched, his face blank, his arms crossed sulkily. "No key." He muttered.

"No there's no bloody key." Croup snapped. "We've waited long enough Mr. Vandemar. We did not get to our current social standing by waiting did we?"

Vandemar said nothing. He recognized the question as rhetorical.

"No we are not waiters." Croup continued. "We are not scavengers waiting for the alpha predators to finish with their meal. We ARE the alpha predators Mr. Vandemar. We are hunters. And it is time we were more pro-active in our endeavors." He headed for the door.

"Where're we goin'?" Vandemar asked.

"What is the first thing a body should do when searching for an object it has lost Mr. V? Check the last place it was. To the Abbey. There we shall begin our own hunt for this precious key."

To Be Continued…


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Richard found that if he kept to the wall, away from the railing and the yawning chasm that awaited just on the other side, he was fine. Which not only helped his sense of safety from falling, it also helped him regain his dignity, what was left of it anyway. Being able to not only look calm, but feel calm did wonders for his self esteem.

"I don't want to be the pessimist in the group." he finally said, once he had fully recovered from his ordeal on the plank. And who the hell had decided one narrow plank of wood was sufficient for crossing a bottomless pit in the first place? "But what if Islington doesn't know where the key is either?" He wasn't worried about how Islington would take it when they returned without the key. He'd put Richard and Door completely at ease when they'd seen him before.

Hunter on the other hand, was a trifle concerned. How would this affect the plan? Were Croup and Vandemar still going to meet them on the way? And if not, how was she to get the spear? She was the greatest Hunter in the underside, but she'd gotten that title not only by being very, very good on her own, but also understanding how certain things worked. And for whatever reason, the Beast of London could only be killed by the spear of destiny. Which Islington's goons were meant to give her, in payment for her cooperation. She felt a swell of pride knowing that even the legendary cutthroats were not so confident in their ability to defeat her. If they had been they would simply have coerced her into helping, rather than offering the spear in payment.

"I am confident that even if he does not know, he will know how to find out." she said finally.

"Magic that powerful always leaves a trace." Door added. "If you know how to look for it, you can maybe follow the trail."

* * *

"Well, well, well, Mr. Vandemar." Mr. Croup grinned, looking in amusement at the carnage of the abbey. "Someone's made a very large mess."

"Big mess Mr. Croup." Vandemar agreed. "Very nice mess."

"They don't seem to have enjoyed themselves however." tsked Croup.

"No they didn't." Vandemar nodded. "Not at all."

"One should always take pride and pleasure in their work Mr. Vandemar. Otherwise there's hardly any point is there?"

Vandemar shook his head sadly. "Almost feel sorry for 'em."

"Well we can't all be artists can we. Still, impressive display of rage and frustration."

"And a woman did it."

"The deadliest of the species indeed. Excepting ourselves of course. Now then, I think I've got a scent, let's see if we can't discover what's become of the lost trinket."

* * *

"It's very good of you," Lamia said, walking beside Richard. "Taking me with you like this."

"Least we could do." Richard said modestly. She was looking at him in a way he couldn't identify. He rather liked it though.

Ahead of them, Door and Hunter turned a corner and were lost to sight.

"The others are getting a little ahead." he pointed out. He hadn't realized until now that he and Lamia had been slowing down.

"Let them go." she said softly. "We'll catch up." She stopped, and ran a cold finger down his cheek. "You're so warm. It must be wonderful to be so full of warmth."

Richard thought she was speaking metaphorically. "Uhm, it's not something I think about really."

She stepped closer to him. "Would you share, some of your warmth with me?" she asked coquettishly.

He still thought she was speaking metaphorically. Well actually it was rather hard to think at all right now really. "I, what?"

"Don't you like me?"

"Of course I like you."

"And you're not using all of your heat are you?"

Now he REALLY wasn't sure what she was talking about. "No, I suppose not."

"And you said you'd pay me, for being your guide. And that's what I want for my payment. Warmth."

She was standing so close to him now. His world collapsed till all it held, all he could see was her. The white of her skin, the color of her eyes, the black of her hair. Inside him, the part that had seen this movie was screaming at him that this was a very bad idea. But she had woven her spell to well and he ignored it.

She cupped his face in her hands, and kissed him gently, but firmly on the lips. She was so cold. The cold within her seemed to spread, infiltrating him, and stole his breath. Like jumping into a cold bit of water and having the breath sucked out of you, only stronger.

She pulled back, and took a deep breath. Her lips and face were not so pale now. And dimly, through the numbness of his skin, he could feel that her hand on his cheek was not quite so cold anymore. Now he could identify the look she was giving him. It was hungry. And she wasn't sated yet.

"More." she purred, pulling him to her again. He hadn't the strength or the will to fight her, and he felt her lips press against his again. Suddenly, just as his sight was beginning to dim, she was yanked away from him.

Though his mind felt blurry, Richard realized that the Marquis had caught up with them. He was holding Lamia tightly by the back of her neck. "Give it back." he growled at her. "Give him back his life."

She struggled, hissing and scratching like an angry kitten, but was unable to escape. Finally, grudgingly, she leaned forward as best she could, and breathed softly into Richard's mouth. He felt his body temperature slowly return to normal.

"_All_ of it Lamia." the Marquis rasped, shaking her. Giving De Caribas a look that would have curdled milk, she she breathed the last of what she'd stolen back into Richard. He felt like he'd run a mile, but at least he could breathe and think again.

"What did you do to me?" he gasped.

"She was stealing your life." the Marquis said, his voice still raspy. "That's what she and her kind do."

"I need it more than he does." she spat. Her color had returned to normal.

De Caribas gave her another violent shake, then shoved her roughly away. "Come near him again, you or any of your kind and I'll come to your cavern during the day, and burn it to the ground."

She looked for a moment like she might rush him, her fingers curled into claws. But the look he gave her back was even more chilling than Richard could have imagined. Finally, all she did was spit in the man's face, and flee.

He wiped the frozen spittle from his cheek, and turned to Richard with his familiar smirk. "Charming woman. Now let's catch up to Door. She's in danger. Did you get the key?"

"Uhm, no."

"No?" De Caribas snapped. "What do you mean no?"

"I mean no. It was gone. Someone got there before us, and killed the monks. We don't know what happened to the key."

This was a surprise. And the Marquis did not like surprises. "Well now, this is a wrinkle."

To Be Continued...


End file.
